Welcome back to another installment for our 2026 reading challenge prompts! Here are a few more books that you might want to check out. Today’s prompt is A mystery with a female detective. And we have plenty of fun titles to choose from! While many of our prompts can be interpreted in several different ways, this one is pretty straightforward:
- A mystery novel where the main character is a female detective
- A mystery novel with a female detective in the cast (for example, the partner to another detective, or a rival)
- A cozy mystery where the sleuth is female, but not a professional detective
Keep reading for a list of books to check out! Happy reading!
Death at the Savoy (Ron Base)
It’s 1968. London is in full swing and the Savoy Hotel is at the height of its legendary glitz and glamour, welcoming the rich, famous and aristocratic into its rarified world of perfection. Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton are squabbling in the American Bar while Noël Coward drinks champagne. Royals wait upstairs in luxurious suites for discreet encounters. In short, all is as it should be at the Savoy. If only it weren’t for the dead body in River Suite 610. Could it be murder at the Savoy? Suspicion falls upon Priscilla Tempest, the quick-witted Canadian head of the Savoy press office who has a penchant for champagne, the wrong sort of men–and trouble. Especially when it is discovered that Priscilla had been with the deceased–a notorious international arms dealer–the night before he was found dead. Her job on the line, her life in danger, Priscilla must elude the police and the general manager’s duplicitous wife, ward off the amorous advances of a famous drunken actor, and discover whether that really was a member of the royal family seen leaving the victim’s suite shortly before his body was discovered.
The Murder at the Vicarage (Agatha Christie)
Who doesn’t love Miss Marple? Dive in to the first full-length novel to feature this iconic amateur detective! Set in the quiet English village of St. Mary Mead, the story begins with the shocking murder of Colonel Protheroe in the vicar’s study. Everyone in the village seems to have a motive, and appearances are deceiving in this seemingly peaceful community. Miss Marple, often underestimated due to her age and gentle demeanor, observes the unfolding events with sharp intelligence and deep insight into human nature. Her understanding of village life and behavior allows her to see connections and clues that others overlook. As the police pursue more obvious leads, Miss Marple quietly pieces together the truth. Christie masterfully builds suspense while exploring themes of deception, morality, and justice. The Murder at the Vicarage is a clever and engaging mystery that introduced readers to one of Christie’s most beloved characters and a timeless sleuthing style.
Catering to Nobody (Diane Mott Davidson)
Get ready for a smorgasbord of delicious suspense prepared by Goldy Bear, an irrepressible mistress of menus and amateur sleuth. Filled with a cast of colorful characters and superb recipes, Catering to Nobody is the first in a series that has made Diane Mott Davidson a best-selling author and the Queen of the Culinary Mystery. Goldy Bear, recently divorced, has made a home for herself and her young son in scenic Aspen Valley, Colorado. There, calls for Goldilock’s Catering have been steady enough to pay the bills. But when a mourner is felled by rat poison during a funeral buffet Goldy is serving, the police quickly close her business. Now it’s up to Goldy to find the rat who has tainted her food and her reputation. Diane Mott Davidson whips up a spicy mixture of cooks and crooks, and veteran narrator Barbara Rosenblat brilliantly conveys Goldy’s intelligence, wit and energy. As the mystery unfolds, its tension is sweetened by delectable recipes, including Goldy’s Dream Cake, Dungeon Bars, and Honey Ginger Snaps.
A Deadly Inside Scoop (Abby Collette)
Recent MBA grad Bronwyn Crewse has just taken over her family’s ice cream shop in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, and she’s going back to basics. Wyn is renovating Crewse Creamery to restore its former glory, and filling the menu with delicious, homemade ice cream flavors–many from her grandmother’s original recipes. But unexpected construction delays mean she misses the summer season, and the shop has a literal cold opening: the day she opens her doors an early first snow descends on the village and keeps the customers away. To make matters worse, that evening, Wyn finds a body in the snow, and it turns out the dead man was a grifter with an old feud with the Crewse family. Soon, Wyn’s father is implicated in his death. It’s not easy to juggle a new-to-her business while solving a crime, but Wyn is determined to do it. With the help of her quirky best friends and her tight-knit family, she’ll catch the ice cold killer before she has a meltdown…
The Maid (Nita Prose)
Molly Dunn is not like everyone else. She struggles with social skills and takes everything literally. Her gran used to help her navigate the world, breaking things down into simple rules that Molly could live by. But, Gran passed away months ago, leaving Molly to interpret the world on her own. Regardless of complications, she throws herself whole-heartedly into her work as a hotel maid, where her obsessive love of cleaning and proper etiquette makes her perfect for the job. But, Molly’s ordinary life is turned on its head when she enters the suite of the infamous and wealthy Charles Black, only to find the room torn apart and Mr. Black lying murdered on the bed. Before she knows what happened, Molly finds herself a prime suspect, and must do whatever she has to in order to clear her name.
The Haunted Lady (Mary Roberts Rinehart)
It’s enough to stop Eliza Fairbanks’s heart. At least that’s what the elderly widow claims is being done to her. First, someone unleashes a cloud of bats in her locked bedroom. When that doesn’t do the trick, next comes a pack of rats to claw at her toes. Special duty nurse Hilda Adams, aka “Miss Pinkerton” to the Homicide Bureau, believes Eliza’s every rattled fear is true. She may be frail–but she’s not batty. What Eliza is, is very, very rich. Out of the shady and oddball assortment of relatives swarming the mansion, someone clearly has an eye on the Fairbanks fortune. Now it’s Hilda’s job to keep an eye on Eliza before a potential killer resorts to more definitive means. And considering all the bad blood running through the heart of the Fairbanks family, it might already be too late to save her charge.
